Eliezer ben Hurcanus

Eliezer ben Hurcanus (or Hyrcanus) (Hebrew: אליעזר בן הורקנוס) was one of the most prominent Judean tannaitic sages of 1st- and 2nd-century Judaism, a disciple of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, and a colleague of Gamaliel II (whose sister, Ima Shalom, he married) and Joshua ben Hananiah. He is the sixth most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah.

Hyrcanus was a member of the Jewish priestly class, the kohanim. His earlier years are known only through legend; it may be inferred that he was somewhat older when a desire to study Torah first compelled him—contrary to the wishes of his father—to desert his regular occupation and depart for Jerusalem to devote himself to his studies. In Jerusalem, he entered the academy of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai and for years studied diligently despite having to cope with great privations. It was said^{[according to whom?]} that sometimes, days elapsed during which he went without eating. Ben Zakkai, recognizing Eliezer's receptive and retentive mind, styled him "a plastered cistern that loses not a drop, even a cask coated with pitch that preserves its wine." His intellect was so pronounced that in later years he could declare, "I have never taught anything which I had not learned from my masters."

In the meantime, his father determined to disinherit him, and with that purpose in view, he went to Jerusalem to read his will before Yochanan ben Zakkai. Ben Zakkai, having heard of Hyrcanus's arrival and the purpose of his visit, instructed the usher to reserve a seat among those to be occupied by the elite of the city and appointed Eliezer lecturer for that day. At first, the latter hesitated to venture into Ben Zakkai's place but, pressed by the master and encouraged by his friends, delivered a discourse, gradually displaying great knowledge. Having recognized his truant son in the lecturer and hearing the praises that Ben Zakkai showered on him, Hyrcanus now desired to transfer all his earthly possessions to Eliezer. Overjoyed at the reconciliation, Eliezer declined to take advantage of his brothers and requested only his proportionate share. He continued his attendance at Ben Zakkai's academy until near the end of the siege of Jerusalem, when he and Joshua assisted in smuggling their Ben Zakkai out of the city and into the Roman camp.

Subsequently, Eliezer proceeded to Yavne, where he later became a member of the Sanhedrin under the presidency of Gamaliel II, though he had established, and for many years afterward conducted, his academy at Lydda. His fame as a great scholar had in the meantime spread; Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai himself declared that Eliezer was unequaled as an expositor of traditional law. Many promising students, among them Akiva, attached themselves to his school.

Eliezer became known as "Eliezer ha-Gadol" ("the Great". Generally, however, he is styled simply "R. Eliezer"), and with reference to his legal acumen and judicial impartiality, the scriptural saying "That which is altogether just [literally "Justice, justice"] shalt thou follow" was thus explained: "Seek a reliable court: go after R. Eliezer to Lod, or after Yohanan ben Zakkai to Beror Ḥayil." Once, he accompanied Gamaliel and Joshua on an embassy trip to Rome.

Rabbi Eliezer was very severe and somewhat domineering with his pupils and colleagues, a characteristic which occasionally led to unpleasant encounters. The main feature of his teaching was a strict devotion to tradition: he objected to allowing the Midrash or the paraphrastic interpretation to pass as authority for religious practice. In this respect, he sympathized with the conservative school of Shammai, which opposed giving too much scope to the interpretation—hence the assertion that he was a disciple of the School of Shammai. Still, he was a disciple of Yohanan ben Zakkai, who was one of Hillel the Elder's most prominent pupils.

Eliezer's conservatism brought him into conflict with his colleagues and contemporaries, who realized that such conservatism might be fatal to the proper development of the Oral Torah. It was also felt that the circumstances brought on by the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem and the disappearance of national independence required a strong religious central authority to which individual opinion must yield.

At last, the rupture came^[when?]. The Sanhedrin deliberated^[when?] about the susceptibility to Levitical uncleanness of an akhnai oven. The majority decided such an oven could become unclean, but Eliezer dissented. As he thus acted in direct opposition to the decision of the majority (though, according to the Talmud, a heavenly voice, a tree, a nearby stream, and the walls of the house of study all agreed with Eliezer's interpretation), it was deemed necessary to make an example of him, and he was excommunicated. Rabbi Akiva, dressed in mourning, appeared before him and, seated at some distance from him, respectfully addressed him with "My master, it appears to me that thy colleagues keep aloof from thee." Eliezer readily took in the situation and submitted to the sentence. According to the Talmud, because Akiva broke the news gently, Eliezer (who had the power to destroy the world) annihilated no more than one-third of crops worldwide and burned only those things that were within his field of view; Gamaliel quickly calmed the tsunami that Eliezer raised that day. Thenceforth Eliezer lived in retirement, removed from the center of Jewish learning, though occasionally some of his disciples visited him and informed him of the transactions of the Sanhedrin.